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News Release
April 9, 2007
With the Roll of the Dice, Board Game will Help Business Assess
Preparedness for Pandemic Flu
The World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
anticipate that an influenza outbreak of pandemic proportions will reach the
United States in the near future, with far-reaching health and economic
consequences.
In anticipation of a pandemic occurring in Idaho, Boise State University
researchers and the state’s Central District Health Department teamed up to
create a tool to help organizations prepare for high absenteeism. A prototype of
the tool was presented as a board game as part of a recent two-day Influenza
Pandemic Preparedness Summit.
The game allows companies to quickly estimate the potential impact of an
influenza pandemic on their ability to continue business operations, including
critical health and safety services. Organizations can visually identify
critical operational and staffing vulnerabilities in the event that 20 percent,
30 percent or 40 percent of their employees are absent due to a pandemic. Once
these vulnerabilities are identified, organizations can institute appropriate
strategies to help avoid problems.
Because influenza is an “equal opportunity” disease, meaning the population as a
whole has no established immunity, the game assumes a random probability
transmission of the virus. Using these parameters, a random roll of the dice is
used to “wipe out” employees responsible for various key organizational
functions. This allows management to analyze where they are adequately covered
in terms of cross training, and where job reassignments could help strengthen
vulnerable areas.
The game has already been applied at four local Boise-area organizations,
including a large high-tech manufacturing facility, a local chemical supply
company, a technology development company and a regional non-profit financial
services organization. Eventually, it will also be available in an electronic
format.
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Contacts: Uwe Reischl, health sciences, 426-2445,
ureischl@boisestate.edu;
Newell Gough, business and economics, 426-4012,
sgough@boisestate.edu; Vidya
Nandikolla, engineering, 426-4055,
vidyanandikolla@boisestate.edu
Media Contact: Kathleen Craven, University Communications, (208)
426-3275, kcraven@boisestate.edu
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The Office of Communications and Marketing
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Boise State University
1910 University Drive -
Boise Idaho 83725-1030
Located in Capitol Village, 2225 W. University Drive
208-426-1577
(fax)208-426-4001
email
communications@boisestate.edu
Last reviewed on
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
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